Monday, June 04, 2012

The Little Foxes That Spoil the Vine - Part 1

Every
person has a vineyard. We may not
perceive that we are keepers of vineyards but there are responsibilities that
we all have for our vineyards. First, we
have the personal vineyard of our own soul.
It is perhaps the most important vineyard of all that we are to take the
most care of. Our soul is the most
valuable possession that we have according to the Word of the Lord (Matthew
16:26; 10:28; Ecclesiastes 12:7). The
care of the soul is a very tedious and challenging process. It involves the careful work of plowing,
planting, cultivating, weeding, watering, and harvesting. Just as a farmer is in a joint venture with
God, to care for our soul will have to be a joint venture with God. We cannot do it all alone! We must have God to intervene with Spirit and
Word to accomplish His will for us.

The
care of the soul is not something that will be accomplished with a single attempt
but rather it is an ongoing process that takes years of constant devotion and
care. It is a process that can be called
holiness or sanctification (Luke 1:74-75; 2 Cor. 7:1; Eph. 4:24; Heb. 12:14; 2
Peter 3:11). There will be ups-and-downs
with the walk of holiness and yet we are to constantly strive to be pleasing to
God (Php. 3:14; Romans 6:1-12; 8:1-10).
We must not let self-righteousness or self-reliance get in our way of
caring for our souls.

The
second vineyard that we have a responsibility for is that of our family. It is one of the most challenging vineyards
to care for in our times. The family has
been under the attack of the devil since the first family who lived in the
Garden of Eden. He refuses to let the
family rest from his attacks. When the
children of Israel were about to go into the Promised Land, God felt it
important enough that He would give Moses some advice to pass on to the
Israelites concerning the vineyard of the family. They were about to go into another pagan
culture just as Jacob and his sons had been transferred to Egypt. They had been slaves, then wanderers, and now
they were conquerors but God still required a level of devotion to them.

In
Deuteronomy 6 there are a few principles laid out that help us to see how we
are to care for the vineyard of our families.

·Deuteronomy
6:1-5—The parents had to have a deep love and reverence for
God.

·Deuteronomy
6:6-7—The parents had to make sure that there was a constant,
conscious, and consistent transfer of truth.
(The word “diligently” in 6:7 means to sharpen. In the Hebrew, this word would signify the
idea “You are to intensely sharpen your sons!”
This kind of instruction is not passive but it is aggressively active
and it will require attention, time, and effort for it to be
accomplished.)

·Deuteronomy
6:10-14—The parents had to make sure that they did not fall into
the traps that are often laid by prosperity.
From a wilderness of manna and quail to a land of milk and honey which
defines the possibility of falling to the snare of materialism. This is only overcome when there is a constant
element of gratitude and humility in one’s heart.

·Deuteronomy
6:20-25—The parents had to frequently and regularly remind
themselves of God’s faithfulness and grace.

The
third vineyard that we find ourselves having to take care of is the
church. If you have been converted and
have experienced the New Birth you have a responsibility to help with the vineyard
of the church. Obviously pastors and
spiritual leaders are the primary directors of the role of taking care of the
vineyard but the fact remains that we all have a part to play in it.

To take
care of the vineyard of the church we find four priorities in Acts 2:42 that
sum up everything we must do. They were
devoted to learning—they learned the
Apostle’s doctrine. They were
devoted to fellowship—they loved each
other. They were devoted to worship—they gave themselves to prayer. All of these things working together
served as an excellent foundation for the early church to take off and
accomplish incredible things for the Lord.